Elementary teacher pleads guilty to sex with young students

A third grade teacher from Burke County has pleaded guilty to sex crimes against children as part of a plea deal in an international child porn ring.

54-year-old Michael Andrew Alexander, a 3rd grade teacher at Hildebran Elementary School, was nabbed a part of an international child porn ring that was broken up in Spain in mid-June.

Investigators discovered some of the videos had young girls wearing Hildebran Elementary t-shirts. The videos were then traced to Alexander, who was a teacher at the school for the past 7 years.

On Thursday afternoon, Alexander pleaded guilty to three counts of felony first degree sex offense with a child and three felony counts of indecent liberties with a child.

He was sentenced to 49.5 years behind bars.

The plea deal will not affect any federal charges, if any are sought against him, authorities say.

Authorities have identified at least five victims in this case, where there was sexual contact.

When he entered the courtroom on Thursday, Alexander mouthed the words "I'm sorry" to a group of teachers.

The families of several victims were there for Alexander's plea and the sentencing. Letters from the victims were read in open court, calling him "a monster."

One victim's mother says that Alexander "deserved what he got" when the 54-year-old was sentenced to a virtual life sentence.

In court it was revealed that Alexander had a fetish for children wearing high leather boots. He reportedly made videos, that did not include sex, with children in boots and sent the images overseas in exchange for child porn.

But investigators say he did more than just take pictures, he had sexual contact with several students, aged 7 to 9-years-old.

Alexander only spoke to plead guilty to the charges, but his attorney said that Alexander "begs the mercy of his God."

As a part of his plea agreement, the sexual exploitation of a minor charges, for the child porn, were dropped.

"The District Attorney's Office commends the Burke County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation on their professionalism and dedication during the investigation of this case," District Attorney James C. Gaither, Junior said.

"We would also like to express our appreciation to the staff of the Gingerbread House who worked 15 hour days interviewing children and counseling families. The State's speedy resolution of the case against the defendant insures that no child will be identified or compelled to testify in a public courtroom."

Burke County Schools superintendent Larry Putnam said there was nothing in his background check when he was hired 12 years ago.

Alexander previously taught at Glen Alpine Elementary and was employed at the Hildebran Elementary School as a drama teacher when he was arrested.

(Warning: The following information is gruesome and could be too graphic for some readers.)

In court on Thursday, it was unveiled that Alexander forced some of his victims to drink his semen, by mixing it into drinks and putting it into treats.

The details of Alexander's arrest warrants are gruesome and include specifics about videos Alexander is accused of making copies of - including two videos of a set of young girls being forced to engage in sexual activity with one another. Each of the four girls is believed to be under the age of 10.

There are also multiple videos of young girls being forced into oral sex with an adult male.

According to the warrants, Alexander is accused of duplicating a video that shows a young girl between the ages of 2 to 4 years of age being raped by an adult male.

Alexander is accused of taking indecent liberties with at least three girls, under the age of 16, who are only identified in the warrants by their initials.

He is also accused of engaging in a sex offense with a fourth girl, under the age of 13, the warrants show.

These offenses occurred from 2001 through 2012, the Sheriff's Office told WBTV.

Alexander has been held in the Burke County since his arrest and will now be transported to Central Prison in Raleigh for processing.

Authorities say Alexander's plea makes this case the quickest turnaround from arrest to conviction that they've ever seen, 29 days from arrest to sentencing.

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